Website: Seek Watercooler Index

Seek.co.nz needed a design for a new section of their website which contained poll questions, answers, and user comments, called Seek Watercooler Index.

The concept of the watercooler — a place where people gather to talk and gossip — was brought to us by the client, and thought it would be perfect to make the website an actual watercooler. The client agreed this would work, so I created the first designs with a cartoon-like watercooler graphic.

Upon reflection (the over-night test), I decided that the site would be more interesting to make the watercooler a realistic image of a watercooler, adding a background showing some people standing around talking. However, this didn’t work until the background image was blurred giving the site a three-dimensional depth.

As the website was to be photographic, but also had to be flexible to allow for dynamic content, I worked closely with the web-developer to ensure what I was designing could be built successfully, and to budget. As a designer, and particularly in front-end website design, I need to know what can and can’t be built. I’ve learned much over the last few years but on larger projects still need to consult with the web-developer. It’s better to know if something will or won’t work, or arguably more important, will it blow the budget. I think this is a responsible step to take if needed.

The end result required some design compromise to ensure the build was under budget, but the final product still contains the essence of the concept I wanted.